Hebe ‘Mrs Winder’

About Hebe ‘Mrs Winder’

A small and spreading, hardy evergreen shrub, Hebe ‘Mrs Winder’ will delight your garden with elegant burgundy-flushed foliage throughout the year, and sparsely arranged pretty purple flowers in the summer.

From reddish-purple tinged stems, the young leaves emerge a beautiful burgundy red in spring, slowly turning to dark green as they mature. In summer, beautiful purple-blue flowers bloom, which are loved by bees and butterflies.

Native to New Zealand, Hebe ‘Mrs Winder’ is sometimes known as shrubby veronica. Compact and rounded in shape, this small hardy shrub is incredibly versatile, is happy in many garden situations, and will reach its mature height of 1m within 5 – 10 years.

In summer, the pretty violet-blue flowers are arranged in dense racemes and sit atop flower spikes that may reach 10cm long. The blooms are balanced beautifully by the narrow, neat evergreen foliage.

Plant in autumn or spring in any well-drained soil, choosing a site ideally in full sun, or partial shade. Hebe ‘Mrs Winder’ will grow on moist soils, even chalk, as long as it isn’t too wet or too dry. If possible keep your Hebe sheltered from any cold winds.

Hebe ‘Mrs Winder’ is a beautiful and hardy evergreen shrub, perfect in a border, and works very well in coastal gardens particularly west and south coastline locations in the UK. It is also tolerant of some pollution, so works well in city spaces.

Hebe doesn’t mind too much if it’s moved about, so it’s a good plant if you are likely to rearrange your garden.

Hebe can be toxic to horses.

Max Dimensions

Ultimate height 1m

Ultimate spread 1.5m

Growth Rate

Time to ultimate height 5 – 10 years

Light levels

Full sun, Partial shade

Growing conditions

Any moist, well-drained alkaline or neutral soil

Hardiness

RHS hardiness H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)

Uses

Flower borders and beds

Coastal gardens and gravel gardens

Naturalistic and informal planting